Possibilities
by SolidSnack77
Summary: What if Naruto had a friend to help him through his hardships, to comfort him when he was filled with sorrow, to help him fight his battles, so that he did not have to fight alone. Loosely follows Canon in the beginning.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: Hey guys and gals, I just wanted to tell you all that this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, so your reviews and comments would be much appreciated. I plan on making my other chapters longer, but i just wanted to get this story started. Thank you for your time, and i hope you enjoy reading my story! P.S. I'm terrible at thinking of good book names. **_

**Chapter 1: New Friendships**

"Today's my first day at the academy. I wonder if ill make any new friends," Naruto said to himself while getting ready for school.

He put on his favorite orange jumpsuit and made his way downstairs to prepare some ramen for breakfast. When he finished eating, he placed his googles on top of his head and went out the door towards school. While walking down the road Naruto noticed a few kids picking on a girl.

"L...leave me alone," the girl protested.

"Why should we huh?" The first kid asked in a mocking tone while kicking the girl to the ground.

"It's not like you can stop us," the second kid stated with a maniacal laugh.

"No, but I can!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What? Who are you?" the bullies questioned turning toward the figure behind them.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm the guy who's going to kick your butt."

"Really now? I'd like to see you try.''

Naruto charged towards the two kids readying a punch which he delivered straight to the gut of the first kid. The kid recoiled and landed on the ground, whaling in pain . The other kid threw a sloppy punch towards Naruto, that was easily dogged and answered with a counter punch to the chin, knocking him on to his back

"Now, you're never going to bother this girl again, you hear me?" Naruto exclaimed while walking towards the two kids.

"Okay we wont we swear, please just don't hurt us anymore," the two kids pleaded.

After the two kids ran away, Naruto went to check on the girl that he had just so valiantly saved. She had short lavender hair, wore a tan coat and had the weirdest eyes that Naruto had ever seen, but they were weird in a good way. They were opaque with a tint of lavender and seemed to be vacant of pupils.

"Are you okay, did they hurt you," Naruto asked with concern while helping the young girl up off the ground.

''I... I'm o-okay thanks to y-you," the girl replied shyly.

"It was nothing, really. I'm Naruto by the way," he stated slightly embarrassed.

"I-I'm Hinata Hyuga," she responded

"Hinata huh, that's a pretty name," he said.

When Hinata heard what Naruto had said she began to blush.

"If you don't mind me asking, why where those kids picking on you," he asked with a concerned look in his eyes.

This look made Hinata melt inside. She felt like she could tell Naruto anything. For the first time in ages Hinata felt like someone actually cared for her.

"W-well I'm the heir to the Hyuga clan w-which makes m-me quite  
>unpopular . A-and some people d-don't like the w-way my eyes look."<p>

"I think your eyes are pretty," Naruto replied.

'Did I hear him right? Did He just say my eyes look pretty ,' she thought while blushing profusely.

The sound of Naruto's voice interrupted Hinata's thoughts.

"Uhh are you okay Hinata? Your whole face is red," Naruto asked.

"W-What! I-I'm fine. I h-have to go, bye." Hinata stammered. Before Naruto could say anything, Hinata  
>had already disappeared<p>

'That was weird. I guess I should get to school. I don't want to be late on the first day,' Naruto thought to himself, and set off towards the academy.

When Naruto arrived at his classroom he gave it a quick look over. He noticed that there were two teachers at the front of the room discussing simple jutsus, but what really got Naruto's attention was a familiar face sitting at the back of the classroom. Naruto made his way to the back row.

"Is this seat taken?" Naruto asked with a slight laugh.

"N-Naruto!? You're in this class as well?" Hinata asked surprised.

"Of course. I have to become a shinobi to fulfill my dream of bec..."

"Alright class settle down and take your seats," one of the teachers commanded, interrupting Naruto.

"My name is Iruka Umino and this is Mizuki, we are here to teach you how to become well trained shinobi and Kunoichi of Konoha" He stated.

Iruka wore the traditional green vest, black shirt, and black pants that most shinobi of Konoha wore. He had brown hair that he kept in a ponytail, and he bore a scar that stretched across the bridge of his nose.

Mizuki wore the same attire as Iruka.  
>He had hair as white as snow that grew down to his shoulders, and he seemed to always be smiling.<p>

"Now lets take roll"

Iruka proceeded to take roll, and when he had finished, he started his lesson on chakra. He went over the numerous chakra points in the body, the five natural elements of chakra, and he finished up with the importance of chakra control.  
>Lunch came and Iruka dismissed the class. The students flocked outside<br>to find a place to eat. Naruto was one of the last to head outside. When he stepped outside he overheard some of his classmates talking about  
>him.<p>

"Isn't he the one with the..."

"Shhh we aren't allowed to talk about that"

Naturo noticed that his whole class was staring at him. He wanted to ask them why, but every time he tried he was met with silence. Everyone seemed to be avoiding him and he didn't know why. He was on the verge of crying, but he wouldn't show it. He found a spot next to a tree and sat down. By this point the kids had stopped staring, but it didn't matter, the damage had already been done. Naruto felt like an outcast, alone. Until he noticed a figure standing in front of him.

"Hey, it's Naruto, right," the boy asked.

Naruto didn't respond, thinking that the kid was just there to make fun him. But then the kid said something that Naruto wasn't expecting.

"This spot taken?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Well here's chapter two. I'm going to try to publish a chapter every week so stay with me. Enjoy! **

"This spot taken?"

"You want to sit next to me!?" Naruto asked, surprised by the question.

"Yeah, well, this spot has a perfect view of the clouds," the boy answered.

"The name's Shikumaru by the way."

Shikamaru wore a meshed t-shirt underneath a gray jacket with a green trim. He had brown eyes and black hair that he wore in a spiked ponytail.

"It's nice to meet you Shikumaru," Naruto replied.

"Yeah you too Naruto."

"Hey, aren't you worried about what others are going to say about you?" Naruto questioned Shikumaru.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well everyone's talking about me behind my back. Aren't you worried that they'll start talking about you too?"

"Nah," he replied nonchalantly.

"Really?"

"Worrying about little things like that  
>is such a drag, plus I saw what you did for that girl earlier today. You seem like a nice enough guy."<p>

"Thanks Shikamaru. I needed that."

"Oh And Naruto try not to fret over every little thing someone has to say about you. If you do, you'll go mad," Shikamaru stated, still watching the clouds roll on by.

"Yeah, I guess your right," Naruto replied with a sigh. "I just wish I knew why they keet saying those things. "Even Hinata, the girl I saved, is avoiding me," Naruto responded,

Little did Naruto know that Hinata was actually watching them as they spoke.

'Oh great now he thinks I'm avoiding him,' Hinata thought to herself from behind a tree. 'If only I could tell him why I'm "avoiding" him.'

Naruto and Shikamaru sat, talked, and watched the clouds float by until lunch was over. The students made their way to their seats and sat down. Iruka and Mizuki finished their lesson on chakra and dismissed the class.

"Alright class for tonight's homework I want you all to read about a shinobi's gear. You're all dismissed," Iruka told the class.

Everyone left the classroom and headed out side. One by one parents came by and picked their children up. It came down to Shikamaru and Naruto. Shikamaru's father arrived to pick him up. Shikamaru's father looked identical to Shikamaru. In fact, all men in the Nara family looked the same.

"See you later Naruto," said Shikamaru.

"Yeah, I will see you tomorrow Shikamaru," Naruto replied.

Shikamaru was just about to head home with his dad when he noticed something. Naruto was walking home alone. No one had come to pick him up. Shikamaru was about to ask Naruto about it, but then he remembered that his father was waiting for him. He decided that he would ask Naruto tomorrow at school. Naruto watched Shikamaru and his father head down the road and disappear into the horizon. Now Naruto was all alone again, or so he thought. A familiar face was hiding behind a tree nearby.

"If only you guys could see me now," Naruto said to himself. "It gets really lonely and I wish I could have gotten to know you guys better," he whispered with tears in his eyes.

'It looks like Naruto is crying. I want to help him but, whenever I get close to him I get too nervous to even speak,'  
>Hinata thought to herself. 'No Hinata, you have to help him. He helped you when you needed it.' She thought.<p>

"H-hey Naruto. May I s-sit with you?" Hinata asked shyly.

Hinata? What are you still doing here?"  
>Naruto replied with his own question.<p>

'I can't tell him that I was watching him. That would be way too embarrassing.' Hinata started to blush just thinking about it.

"Hey Hinata, are you alright?" Naruto asked while he placed his hand on Hinata's forehead.

As soon as Naruto's hand reached her forehead, Hinata fainted. Before she could hit the ground Naruto caught her in his arms.

'She must be tiered I guess,' Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto laid Hinata against a tree and placed his jacket over her.

"I'll just wait here until she wakes up."  
>I'm in no rush anyways. And besides, she looks so peaceful when she sleeps. A few minutes later Hinata woke up.<p>

"N-Naruto? W-what happened?"

"You fainted. Don't worry though, I sat here the whole time watching over you," He answered.

"Y-you did?" Hinata asked surprised.

"Yeah, it was no problem at all.," he replied.

"T-thanks Naruto," she said, trying her hardest not to blush.

"Don't mention it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and flashing Hinata one of his signature Uzumaki grins.

This made it even more difficult for Hinata to resist the urge to blush.

"Hey, I have been meaning to ask you, what were you doing out here this late,"

Hinata froze. She didn't think Naruto would ask that question. She tried to think of a reasonable excuse, but nothing came to mind.

"I...um we'll I was...uh," she stuttered, still trying to think of something.

"Uh, w-well, To be honest, I was kind of following you," she said, in an almost complete whisper.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

'Oh great, he probably thinks I'm crazy now.' Hinata thought to herself.

"That's a relief," Naruto exclaimed.

Hinata looked at Naruto with a look of confusion.

"Really?" She asked.

"Absolutely. I thought you were avoiding me like everyone else," he said with a sigh of relief.

"W- why would I avoid you? You're the reason those two bullies don't beat me up anymore," she stated.

Well I'm glad you're not avoiding me, I was looking forward to hanging out with you.

At this point, Hinata couldn't control it anymore, and her face started to burn bright red. Right before Hinata was about to faint for a second time, three figures appeared out of nowhere.

"Look at what we have here," One of the figures stated.

"What's the heir to the Hyūga family doing with a monster like this," said another figure.

"Who are you guys, and what do you want with us!" Naruto shouted.

"Hey now, there's no need to shout. we're just here for the girl. we would appreciate your cooperation," the leader of the group replied.

"If you want her, you'll have to go through me," Naruto said, stepping in front of Hinata.

"N-Naruto, what are you doing? You can't win this fight," Hinata whispered to Naruto.

"That's okay. I don't need to win; I just need you to get home safely," he whispered back to her.

"But Naruto, I..."

"Don't worry about me Hinata. Just worry about getting out of here," he interrupted.

Hinata hesitated. She didn't want Naruto to get hurt because of her.

"What are you waiting for Hinata? Get out of here. I'll be fine, I promise," Naruto reassured her.

Hinata finally sprinted off towards her house to get some help.

"Huh. Hey boss, she's getting away," one of the thugs exclaimed.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Chase after her you idiots," the leader shouted.

"Yes sir!" The two subordinates shouted back.

The two thugs started to run in the direction of Hinata, but before they could get anywhere, Naruto delivered a punch to both of them, knocking them back.

"You guys aren't going anywhere."

"That's it punk, your toast."

The two thugs charged towards Naruto, fists raised, ready to throw a punch. Naruto stepped to the side avoiding the two thugs. Naruto had forgotten about the leader and was met with a blow to the gut, causing him to cringe. The whole thing was a trap. The two thugs were just distractions so that Naruto wouldn't notice the real threat behind them.

'Damn it. They're smarter then they look,' Naruto thought to himself.

The thugs charged in for round two.

This time Naruto was prepared. He rushed towards the two goons, ducking under their fists and driving his own into the back of the two thugs. When Naruto looked forward he noticed the leader missing. By the time Naruto figured out what he was up to, He turned around in an attempt to block the incoming attack. He was to late. He felt a sharp grueling pain in his ribs. When he looked down to see what it was, there was a kunai lodged in his side. The head thug took the kunai out off his side and started swiping at him left and right. Naruto tried to avoid the slashes, but the pain was overwhelming. Each slash brought Naruto agonizing pain. He tried to counter with a punch, but it was in vain. Naruto was praying for the pain to stop, but the attacks kept coming left and right. Riddling his body with cuts.

"Boss, someone's coming, we gotta get out of here."

The thugs fled from the scene. Naruto tried to head for help, but on the first step he took, he collapsed to the ground, clutching his side. As each second passed by, Naruto felt closer to death. His eyes were growing heavy. His whole body felt weak.

'She was right. I couldn't beat them after all,' Naruto thought to himself, while coughing up blood.

Naruto was struggling to keep his eyes open. With each passing breath, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.  
>He couldn't feel the pain anymore. He couldn't feel anything; his body had gone numb.<p>

"Sorry Hinata, it doesn't look like I'll be keeping my promise," he whispered to himself, as he closed his eyes for good...


End file.
